Mapping Stories

The Geographic Footprint of Heart & Soul

AbstractThis project’s objective was to create GIS maps that highlight the character of specific locations in downtownBiddeford, Maine - duly noted by residents and stakeholders during a city-wide outreach initiative to inform thedevelopment of a master plan. These maps reveal heart and soul attributes of Biddeford’s city center by organizingpublic inputs captured in multi-media stories and linking them to these locations. Results of the project include a .kmlfile developed for the project’s website, as well as four maps profiling geospatial information and civic opinions onland use zoning, planning themes, and historic elements of downtown. Conclusions indicate that maps enhanced bymulti-media provide broader opportunities for public participation, as well as longevity for public interest beyond theculmination of the planning process. Maps from this project will be used to inform segments of the downtownchapter of Biddeford’s comprehensive plan in 2010.

Stories

Community-building,Engagement, and

Connection

Process

Master PlanCreating a Vibrant

andWelcoming Downtown

HeartWorksDowntown Master Plan Project

Engage the community, including new voices, in identifying and describing Biddeford’s heart & soul

Create bridges between the diverse segments of the community, including “the Pool,” downtown neighborhoods,university community, newcomers and old timers, building common ground and a sense of shared civic pride

Ensure that community heart & soul is central to all future downtown planning and development initiatives and thatheart and soul values are reflected in planning documents

Create a Downtown Vision Statement and Master Plan that protects and enhances the City’s unique character andspecial features

Track implementation of the Master Plan

HeartWorks Goals

4

Downtown Biddeford's

Geographic Footprint

of Human Values

F.W. Woolworth Co.

HFS Annex

Liggett Drug Company

Murphy's Music Store

Reilly's Bakery

Wonderbar

St. Jean De Baptist

Southern ME Boxing

1

1

2

3

5

4

1

6

0 270 540 810 1,080135Feet

µ

4

1

5

6

3

2 North Dam Mill

Palace Diner

Heart of Biddeford

Biddeford Heart & Soul Themes

Who is saying

what?

0 430 860 1,290 1,720215Feet

Five Pointsarea

Burger King

University of New England

Goldthwaite's Market

Beachcommunities

^ Downtown Biddeford

HeartSpots

Í 0 0.7 1.4 2.1 2.80.35

Miles

0 1 2 3 40.5

Miles

A t l a n t i cO c e a n1. Social / family

2. Lifestyles and routines3. Housing downtown4. Transportation

Theme Codes5. Recreation6. Economic Development7. Conservation8. Safety and/or crime9. Governance

0 400 800 1,200 1,600200Feet

Beach community

Five Points Area

% Central Theater

% City Hall

% City Theatre

% Dad's Cigar Parlor

% Fishman's

% HFS Annex

% Heart of Biddeford

% Highlight Zone

% Jewel of India

% McArthur Library

% North Dam Mill

% Palace Diner

% Pizza by Alex

% Puritan Restaurant

% Reilly's Bakery

% Westpoint Stevens

% Wonderbar

% Woolworth's

% Youland's Jewelers

Downtown streets

Building footprints

Biddeford townline

% The Ross Center

% New Morning Natural

% Southern ME Boxing

% Good Dog Company

MSRD3

MSRD1

B1

MSRD2

R2

W2R1A

OR

GD

0 960 1,920480

Feet I

LAND USE ZONING IN DOWNTOWN BIDDEFORD

BIDDEFORD

SACO

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining

Construction

Manufacturing

Wholesale trade

Retail trade

Transportation and warehousing, and utilities

Information

Finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and …

Professional, scientific, management, …

Educational, health and social services

Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation …

Other services (except public administration)

Public administration

Biddeford Industry

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Car, truck, or van -- drove alone

Car, truck, or van --carpooled

Public transportation (including taxicab)

Walked

Commuting to Work

Economic statistics that influencesome of the human attitudes currently

shaping the condition of downtown...

Town boundaries

TOWN

Biddeford

Saco

Zoning

B1

B2

CR

I1

I2

I3

IN

LRF

M

MSRD1

MSRD2

MSRD3

OR

R1A

R2

R3

RF

SR1

W1

W2

W3

Saco RiverDowntown streets

Biddeford roads

Resource protection

^

Beach Community inRelationship

to Downtown

Fortune's Rocks

Main Street Revitalization Districts

Biddeford Pool

F.O. Goldthwaite's Market

University of New England

A t l a n t i cO c e a n

0 1 2 3 40.5

Miles

^ Downtown Biddeford Area

Beach Community HeartSpots

Visions for the future, with roots in the past

Multi-media

… now provide space for a variety of uses,

Courtesy of the McArthur Library

creative economic development,

Once booming textile mills …

and residences.

What are people saying about Biddeford?

Layering community stories among the geospatial datasets in GIS maps provides a uniqueopportunity for public voice to resonate throughout the planning process.

By gathering stories in a variety of settings, the HeartWorks Master Plan Project coordinators were able to

encourage honest dialog from people who might otherwise miss an opportunity to participate in this local initiative.

GIS provided a medium for organizing these public inputs with the places that they referenced, and in that way,increased the odds that decision-makers will be more informed about the aspects of character and place Biddefordresidents and stakeholders hold dear.

A project by Holli R. Andrews

Under the guidance of Professor Matthew Bampton,University of Southern Maine GIS Department

& Ariana McBride,Orton Family Foundation

Weaving IndividualNarratives into a

Community Experience

“The nicest memory is Reilly’s Bakery. And when I was ayoung man, back in the late 40’s and the early 50’s, we usedto go over there and get what we call a bag of crumbs foreither a penny or two cents. And if you were lucky, you gota bag of yesterday’s leftovers, and you made out like abandit. If you weren’t lucky, then you got what you paid for,a bag of crumbs. But, nine out of ten, you ended up prettydecent,” Frank Hammond.

“I have a very fond memory of the former Taylors’ GreetingCard Shop. My father and I actually performed therenovations to the former greeting card shop - convertingthe old Reilly’s Bakery sign was one of my initial ideas. Theentire façade of the old Reilly’s Bakery was metal and bakedenamel. I had the idea to take that portion of the enamelfaçade to make the sign that now exists at Reilly’s Bakery,so I have very fond memories of that location,” Todd Sheaof Biddeford.

“A lot of people from the mills started working in other industries to better themselves. The 1950s to the 1960s, people startedmoving away, started working in other parts of the state. The downtown area was thriving, but when these people left, is when themills started closing and moving their sheeting departments and moving the material and machinery down south. Stores startedclosing one at a time and eventually started moving away, most of them moved away,” excerpt from the Burger King Gang.

2009 photos by Claire Houston, Anna Schechter, and John Barstow

An approach to land use planning innovated by theOrton Family Foundation

In conclusion

April 2010

Biddeford on GoogleEarth –

public interface